How many species do we need?: Most people take it for granted that biodiversity is good for the planet. Jeremy Cherfas visited a living experiment that reveals why

On the second floor of a postmodern building not far from Ascot racecourse, it is forever June. A cloudy sky - for the records say that in England flaming June is exceptional - looks down on plants typical of a weedy field. Snails rasp at the leaves, earthworm casts litter the surface of the soil, aphids suck the plant juices, and tiny wasps hunt for aphids to parasitise. The day starts off at a cool 12 degree C and rises to a modest peak of 20 degree C in the middle of the afternoon. And three times a day, at 7 o'clock in the morning, 4.15 in the afternoon and 8.30 in the evening, it rains for precisely one minute.

This is the Ecotron, a £1 million facility that is, for the first time, giving ecologists the means to carry out experiments that are complex enough to be realistic, yet ...

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